"We Now Pause for this Commercial Message..."

I am not a person enslaved to name brands -- well, except for Coca Cola! -- but when I travel for Carswell, I always see if I can book into a Delta hotel. And my favourite hotel out of the chain is the Ocean Pointe in Victoria.

This is the hotel where I brought my parents and my sister Cathryn on the last holiday I would have with Mum. They treated her like a queen and went out of their way to make everything wonderful for us.

The next year when I returned, my lovely waitress Melissa remembered not only me but my Mum and asked after her with much kindness.

This year was no exception. I was put into a beautiful room with a glorious view ...



... and because I am a regular guest with the Delta chain, they sent up a cheese tray ...

... and a kind note from Kimberley Hughes, the General Manager (all the Delta hotels include "the welcome back note" to returning guests, but Kimberley's touched me in light of the memories I have of this particular hotel).

That evening Kathy, the wonderful representative from housekeeping who was offering turndown service, asked me if I would like an extra chocolate. When I said I shouldn't be eating any at all she replied, "Everyone should have an extra chocolate on vacation!" When she found out I was here on business, she responded, "Well, in that case you deserve extra chocolate!" and gave me several more. Who could resist?



(Kathy's chocolates & Kimberley's note)

(The next night, when I arrived back to my room after a long day at work, on my bedside was the "tomorrow's temperature" card -- encircled by another gift of chocolates courtesy, I have no doubt, of the generosity of Kathy!)

Henry served me breakfast the first two mornings I was there. He was charming and cheerful and didn't even laugh too much at me for not seeing the coffee pot in plain view on my table ...

And the last morning Melissa herself was working in the dining room and I had the great good fortune of being seated at one of her tables. As usual she was friendly and thoughtful and remembered -- the perfect way to end a stay in Victoria.

The food is fresh and tasty -- seafood cakes, anyone?! I also appreciate that children are made a big deal of by the staff. The front desk crew is efficient and accommodating; one poor agent graciously even did faxing for me in the middle of the night ...

This is all rather gushy, I'm afraid; but when I find a hotel that treats its guests the way this one does (and it appears that everyone gets treated extremely well here), I feel like I should pass it on. Customer service seems to be more and more of a dying art - yet at this hotel it seems to come naturally. People really do make the difference. I only hope that we at the TH treat our guests as well as I was treated.

If you are planning on going out to Victoria and want a place to stay, I suggest you go to deltahotels.com and sign up for their email service: they will send you regular notices about special rates and packages.

Oh, and one last thing -- to set the seal on excellence! -- they even serve Coca Cola ... :-)

(view from my room at night)